Transgender Guidelines for Schools

The White House, along with the departments of Justice and Education, say schools must let transgender students use the bathroom they identify with. Conservative leaders in Texas responded by denouncing it. They see this directive as divisive, unsafe, and immoral. Others call this a big step for civil rights and applaud the anti-discrimination policy. In Texas, the Fort Worth school superintendent announced their public schools would accommodate transgender students. That led to Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, calling for the superintendent’s removal. Listen to hear more about how politics and public school bathrooms are related.

Sample Current Event

Language Challenge

These levels of listening complexity can help teachers choose stories for their students. The levels do not relate to the content of the story, but to the complexity of the vocabulary, sentence structure and language in the audio story.

Low

These stories are easier to understand and are a good starting point for elementary students or English learners.

Medium

These stories have an average language challenge for middle and high school students, and can be scaffolded for English learners.

High

These stories have challenging vocabulary and language and students may need to have some background knowledge to understand the story.